Wireless communication device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a wireless communication device 1 having an upper part 10 and a bottom part 11, the upper part 10 comprising one or more transmission antenna device(s) 12a, 12b; 15. The upper part 10 and the bottom part 11 are arranged movably in relation to each other, so that the bottom part 11, in use mode, is closer to the user than the upper part 10. The bottom part 11 comprises one or more reception antenna device(s) 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 14/730,120, filed Jun. 3,2015, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.application Ser. No. 13/984,477, entitled “Wireless communicationdevice”, filed Aug. 8, 2013, which was a 35 U.S.C. § 371 National PhaseEntry Application from PCT/EP2011/051820, filed Feb. 8, 2011,designating the United States. The content of these applications areincorporated in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to wireless communication devices, and inparticular to wireless communication devices having an upper part and abottom part arranged movably in relation to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless communication devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, arean expected part of everyday life, and an increasing number of servicesare offered to users of these wireless communication devices. Examplesof such services comprise video on demand, e-mail, downloading of musicand surfing the Internet, just to mention a few. The provided servicesbecome increasingly more bandwidth requiring and the number of users isalso increasing. Further, higher data rates for the services are adesire of both users as well as of the service providers, enabling arapid exchange of data.

In view of e.g. the vast number of services being offered, the need anddemand for increased data rates and bandwidth is most understandable.However, increased data rates put requirements on e.g. the antennasused. An increase in antenna size is difficult in view of the size ofthe wireless portable device, and an increase in transmission power isdifficult for a number of reasons. Besides interference issues, SpecificAbsorption Rate (SAR) measurements need to be performed under certainconditions. If the transmit antennas are placed sufficiently far awayfrom the users, there is no requirement for the manufacturers of thewireless communication devices to measure SAR. Otherwise, such SARmeasurements need to be performed for every antenna implementation,which would be very costly and also time-consuming for themanufacturers.

From the above, it is clear that there is a need for improvements onthis situation in this field of technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to enable an increase of data rates inwireless communication devices.

The object is according to an aspect of the invention achieved by awireless communication device having an upper part and a bottom part.The upper part comprises one or more transmission antenna device(s). Theupper part and the bottom part are arranged movably in relation to eachother, so that the bottom part, in use mode, is closer to the user thanthe upper part, and the bottom part comprises one or more receptionantenna device(s). By placing reception antenna devices in the partclosest to the user when using the portable wireless communicationdevice, an increased reception capacity is provided without entailingany requirements for performing SAR measurements. Further, the placementof the reception antenna device(s) in the bottom part enables thereduction of losses as required cables between reception antennas andradio circuitry can be shortened, thereby increasing the received signalto noise and interference ratio.

In an embodiment of the invention, the upper part further comprises oneor more reception antenna device. This is the case for many wirelesscommunication devices, and the provision of additional reception antennadevices in the bottom part provides an increased reception capacity tosuch wireless communication devices.

In a variation of the above embodiment, the bottom part comprises one ormore reception antenna devices arranged to receive a polarizationorthogonal to the polarization of the one or more reception antennadevices of the upper part. An improved reception is provided in that anadditional polarization direction can be used therefore.

In another embodiment of the invention, the one or more receptionantenna device(s) comprise a microstrip antenna such as a planarinverted F antenna or a rectangular patch antenna. Depending on thewireless communication device at hand, different antenna types may beused.

In another embodiment of the invention, the reception antenna device(s)and the transmission antenna device(s) operate in a cellularcommunication frequency band.

In another embodiment of the invention, the upper part and the bottompart are pivotally or slidably fastened to each other.

In another embodiment of the invention, the upper part comprises the lidof a laptop and the bottom part comprises the user input device of thelaptop.

In another embodiment of the invention, the upper part, in use mode, isat a distance from the user at which no SAR measurements are required.The manufacturer of the portable wireless communication device does notneed to perform costly and time-consuming SAR measurements and anincreased data rate can be provided, without the need for such SARmeasurements.

In different variations, the wireless communication device comprises alaptop, a notebook computer or a pocket personal computer.

Further features and advantages thereof will become clear upon readingthe following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which an embodiment ofthe invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication device 1 in an embodiment ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth such as particulararchitectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide athorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced in otherembodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances,detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods areomitted so as not to obscure the description of the invention withunnecessary detail. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout thedescription.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which an embodiment ofthe invention may be implemented. A wireless communication device 1 isable to communicate with other devices and comprises for this end dataexchanging means able to receive and transmit data. The communication isperformed over a wireless communication link, schematically illustratedat reference numeral 2. The communication link 2 may for examplecomprise a channel in a cellular radio network and a radio access node3, e.g. base station, is then provided. The radio access node 3 is inturn connected to other networks, such as a wide area network (WAN) 5,e.g. the Internet or backhaul network, in a known manner.

The wireless communication device 1, may for example comprise a laptop,a notebook computer or a pocket personal computer. It is noted that theterm “laptop” can refer to a number of classes of small portablecomputers, for example regular full-size laptops, netbooks, which is asmaller, lighter, more portable laptop, tablet personal computers.Laptops are also denoted notebooks. The invention encompasses all suchwireless communication devices.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication device 1 in an embodiment ofthe invention. The illustrated wireless communication device 1,exemplified as a laptop, has an upper part 10 and a bottom part 11. Theupper part 10 comprises one or more transmission antenna device(s) 12 a,12 b, 15. The transmission antenna device(s) enable communication, inparticular at least the transmission of data. The transmission antennadevice(s) may be transmit only antenna devices 12 a, 12 b or transceiverantennas suitable for both transmitting and receiving data. When asingle transmission antenna device 15 is used both for transmission andreception, a duplex filter or a switch is connected between thetransmission and reception parts of radio circuitry 16 and the antenna15 in order to separate the transmission frequencies and the receptionfrequencies from each other.

The distance between a user using the laptop and the transmissionantenna devices 12 a, 12 b is such that SAR measurements are not anissue. Typically, these are therefore placed in the upper part 10, i.e.the lid, of the laptop. The antenna implementation is designed with thisin mind.

The upper part 10 may further comprise one or more reception antennadevice 13 a, 13 b, 15.

In accordance with the invention, the bottom part 11 is provided withone or more reception antennas 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d.

For the illustrated case wherein the wireless communication device 1 isa laptop, all antenna devices are today placed in the lid of the laptop.The lid of the laptop is usually rather thin and the planarimplementation of the antenna devices only allows arrangement of theantenna devices so that two different polarizations are provided and canbe used. An embodiment of the invention offers improvements in thisregards.

The one or more reception antenna devices 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d of thebottom part 11 is, in an embodiment, arranged so as to receive apolarization orthogonal to the polarization of the one or more receptionantenna devices 13 a, 13 b, 15 of the upper part 10. This arrangement ofthe reception antenna devices 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d of the bottom part11 in relation to the reception antenna devices 13 a, 13 b, 15 of theupper part 10 enables the provision of improved reception in that athird polarization for reception can be used.

Existing antenna solutions in laptops of today entail long and flexiblecables between the antennas placed in the lid of the laptop and theradio circuitry usually placed under the keyboard of the laptop. Suchcables, required to connect the antenna to the radio circuitry, arelossy. Another disadvantage is that at low frequencies, the distance inwavelengths between the antennas in the lid becomes quite small, whichreduces the performance due to increased correlation and antenna mutualcoupling.

The antenna placement in accordance with an embodiment of the inventionprovides improvements in the above regards. Placing reception antennadevices in the bottom part 11 requires shorter cables, the distancebeing only from the receive-only antennas 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 darranged in the bottom part 11 and the radio circuitry 16 also arrangedin the bottom part 11. The problems of correlation and antenna mutualcoupling are alleviated in that an increased antenna separation isprovided. Shorter cables will reduce losses and therefore improve thereceived SINR (Signal to noise and interference ratio).

A requirement in 3GPP for LTE Advanced is that it should support up to8×8 MIMO (Multiple input Multiple Output) in downlink and up to 4×4 MIMOin uplink. Therefore future laptops might use 8 receive antennas and 4transmit antennas. In view of this and as a particular example of anembodiment, if 8 receive antennas and 4 transmit antennas are requiredin the laptop 1, only 4 antennas need to support both transmission andreception while 4 antennas need only support reception. The 4 antennasthat support both transmission and reception are still placed in theupper part 10 (lid of the laptop), as in prior art, in order to avoidSAR measurement requirements for the laptop manufacturers. However, the4 antennas that only support reception are placed in the bottom part 11(keyboard part of the laptop). No SAR measurements have to be done withthese receive-only antennas 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d as they do nottransmit any radiation. Further, as mentioned, the cables that connectthese 4 reception antennas 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d to the radio circuitry16 placed under the keyboard will be shorter than for the otherantennas, thus reducing losses and improving the received SINR.

The reception antenna device(s) 13 a, 13 b, 15; 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 dmay comprises a microstrip antenna such as a planar inverted F antennaor a rectangular patch antenna, it is however noted that other types ofantennas are possible.

In an, embodiment, the reception antenna device(s) 13 a, 13 b, 15; 14 a,14 b, 14 c, 14 d and the transmission antenna device(s) 12 a, 12 boperate in a cellular communication frequency band. Other frequencybands may however be used.

The upper part 10 and the bottom part 11 are arranged movably inrelation to each other, so that the bottom part 11, in use mode, iscloser to the user than the upper part 10.

The upper part 10 and the bottom part 11 of the wireless communicationdevice 1 may be pivotally or slidably fastened to each other. Typicallaptops have a joint between the bottom part 11, comprising a keyboard,and the upper part 10 comprising a display. The joint permits the upperpart 10 to alter between a closed position wherein the upper part 10lies flat on the bottom part 11, and an open position, wherein the upperpart 10 and the display thereof is visible to the user.

The upper part 10 and the bottom part 11 can be fastened to each otherpivotally, by means of a hinge connection. The two parts of aconventional laptop, i.e. lid and keypad, respectively, are typicallyarranged in such hinge connection. As an alternative, the upper part 10and the bottom part 11 are slidably fastened to each other, by means ofa slide connection. That is, the user pushes the upper part 10 away fromthe bottom part 11, for the wireless communication device 1 to be in usemode.

The upper part 10, in use mode, may be arranged to be at a distance fromthe user at which no SAR measurements are required. The requirementswhen to perform SAR measurements are typically dependent uponregulations stipulated in different countries or regions by differentauthorities. As an example, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) canbe mentioned.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A wireless communication device having anupper part and a bottom part, the upper part comprising one or moretransmission antenna device(s) and one or more reception antennadevice(s), the upper part and the bottom part being arranged movably inrelation to each other, so that the bottom part, in use mode, is closerto a user than the upper part, wherein the bottom part comprises one ormore reception antenna device(s) arranged to receive a polarizationorthogonal to the polarization of the one or more reception antennadevice(s) of the upper part, and wherein the bottom part does notcomprise any transmission antenna device(s).
 2. The wirelesscommunication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or morereception antenna device(s) comprises a microstrip antenna.
 3. Thewireless communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one ormore reception antenna device(s) and the one or more transmissionantenna device(s) operate in a cellular communication frequency band. 4.The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein theupper part and the bottom part are pivotally or slidably fastened toeach other.
 5. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the upper part comprises a lid of a laptop and the bottom partcomprises a user input device of the laptop.
 6. The wirelesscommunication device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the microstripantenna is configured as a planar inverted F antenna or a rectangularpatch antenna.
 7. A wireless communication device having an upper partand a bottom part, the upper part comprising one or more transmissionantenna device(s) and one or more reception antenna device(s), the upperpart and the bottom part being arranged movably in relation to eachother, so that the bottom part, in use mode, is closer to a user thanthe upper part, wherein the bottom part comprises one or more receptionantenna device(s) arranged to receive a polarization orthogonal to thepolarization of the one or more reception antenna device(s) of the upperpart, wherein all transmission antenna device(s) of the wirelesscommunication device are located in said upper part.